D&D General What 3 Races Would You Spotlight in a New Campaign?

[Zardnaar]

More or less as the title says.

Assume that all the PHB races are included. If any are cut it's probably Halflings and/or Gnomes. Dragonborn are Fizbans only though. If you cut Gnomes and Halflings you can go up to 4 or 5.

Theme is post apocalyptic. These are the only major races, anything else is a mutant (singular).

I meant the phb races +3 (or 4-5 cutting halflings and gnomes).

 

[bedir than]

I'd spotlight halfings because they survive the apocalypse due to being overlooked.
Dwarves survived because they're hearty and underground.
Humans because we're like cockroaches.
Orcs because I like The Hunger and The Dusk.

 

[Bitbrain]

Theme is post apocalyptic.

Okay. Post-apocalyptic can take many different forms.

These are tge only major races, anything else is a mutant (singular).

Mutant, eh? Okay, so I’m imagining a more science fiction/fantasy campaign.

Assume that all the PHB races are included.

Fallout-esque.

Post-apocalyptic science fantasy campaign focused on gnomes, dragonborn, and half-orcs (flavored as “planimal”-folk). Humans, dwarves, elves, and others, if included at all, are either mutants or astronauts who came to this planet from another world (or worlds) for exploration purposes. They might have a colony or two, but the situation is more OG Star Trek than Spanish Empire.

Hmm… Lord of the Rings meets Star Trek meets Beneath the Planet of the Apes (but with a happy ending).

Dang, that actually sounds like a fun setting to me. Might expand on it in the future.

 

[RoughCoronet0]

Halfling - There small stature, hardy nature, and pension for creating strong communal units would give them an advantage in surviving in the post-apocalypse.

Aasimar (they are being added into the Revosed PHB so I think they count) - Maybe radiant energy is a form of radiation, so a species that is infused with this energy and has learned to harness and adapt to it makes sense.

Goliath and/or Dragonborn - Both are also hardy species that I could see having evolved from ancient giants and dragons to better survive in a resource limited and energy-volatile world.

 

[Tonguez]

Warforged - transplanting brains into mechanical bodies was first used for military ordinance, then for civilian transhumanist elite.

Goblin - natural scavengers use to surviving on the fringes

Variant Human

 

[Vaalingrade]

I'd like to see a post apocalypse about rebuilding rather than everyone abandoning common sense to become a raider, so:

Halflings - the folks who know and care about hospitality and finding joy in life are the ones most likely to actually survive the immediate post apocalypse because their communities will function and they'll be able to weather the initial hardship.

Tieflings - reflavored as what happened to humans as part of whatever made the apocalypse happen. Perhaps the initial situation, a group made a pact or turned to an experimental answer.

Orcs - literally the survivors in the setting already. The orc shall inherit the world as they managed to make their way in a setting where the gods themselves tried to screw them over -- what's a little apocalypse going to do?

Also, the implication of lost magic, fallen empires and dungeons is that every D&D setting is post-apocalyptic.

 

[Twiggly the Gnome]

Pre-apocalypse the three major species were Human, Elf, and Dragonborn. The apocalypse event caused a resource scarcity that selected for smaller sized individuals. Eons later, the globe is dominated by their descendants: Halflings, Gnomes, and Kobolds.

 

[Zardnaar]

I messed up my OP I meant non phb races derp. Nevermibd I'll roll with it thanks for ideas so far.

Edit. Fallout/Darksun inspired.

 

[Zardnaar]

Warforged - transplanting brains into mechanical bodies was first used for military ordinance, then for civilian transhumanist elite.

Goblin - natural scavengers use to surviving on the fringes

Variant Human

Thinking of that Warforged variant. Cybrex. No creation forges more cybernetic.

 

[Yaarel]

More or less as the title says.

Assume that all the PHB races are included. If any are cut it's probably Halflings and/or Gnomes. Dragonborn are Fizbans only though. If you cut Gnomes and Halflings you can go up to 4 or 5.

Theme is post apocalyptic. These are the only major races, anything else is a mutant (singular).

Great question. I would probably go with the top five, rather than the top three. Five is more dynamic and probably more suitable for diverse world. Three is more focused, and tends to be directionless and comedic.

For the 5e 2024 default, the top five are: Elf, Human, Tiefling, Dwarf, and Dragonborn − in this order.

Since the Elf species is present in this postapocalypse, the default five are probably good enough. Fey Elf, Fiend Tiefling, and perhaps Elemental Dwarf, suggest the cause of the apocalypse is the planar levels of being went awry. Humans and Dragonborns would be the natives of the Material Plane. Perhaps bad behavior among Humans and Dragonborns is what wrecked the planes, causing thoughts, dreams, and reality to bleed into each other.